Sand Land, the game adaptation of Akira Toriyama's manga, now has a demo

eurogamer.net:

Sand Land, the video game adaptation of Akira Toriyama's beloved manga series, now has a demo on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, PS4, and Steam, ahead of it full launch in April.

Sand Land unfolds in a post-apocalyptic desert world where water is in short supply. Players guide Beelzebub, also known as the Fiend Prince, as he joins a rag-tag team of adventurers on a quest to uncover the hidden Legendary Spring.

In more specific terms, Sand Land is an action-RPG from ILCA, Inc. (the studio behind 2021's Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl) with a heavy focus on vehicular action. Players can develop their own tanks, motorbikes, and other transportation — switching out the likes of weapons, engines, and suspension — in order to navigate the world and take on opponents.

As per publisher Bandai Namco's announcement, Sand Land's new demo provides access to a limited portion of the map, features three playable characters — Beelzebub, Rao, and Thief — and gives players a taste of the game's Battle Tank, Battle Armour, and Motorbike gameplay.

Progress won't transfer over to Sand Land's full release, but starting the proper game with demo save data on your system will unlock a small stash of bonuses resources — 30 B-Grade Steel and 30 B-Grade Bolt — used to enhance vehicles when reaching Spino in the story.

Sand Land's demo is out now for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam, and the full game launches on 26th April.

The Sand Land manga originally released in 2000, but is currently enjoying something of a revival; alongside Bandai Namco's video game, a new anime adaptation is set to air on Disney Plus and Hulu from 20th March. Sand Land is one of several notable works from manga artist and Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, who sadly passed away earlier this month, eliciting a wave of tributes from across the games industry.